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| Image Credit: skysports.com |
Following United's 4-2 defeat to Leicester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seemed to be an inexperienced manager living on dwindling goodwill.
As the Norwegian walked towards a dissatisfied section of the stadium to
applaud the travelling supporters, he was met with a mixture of sympathetic
clapping and fury, as well as a good number of vacant blue seats.
If the two late goals scored by Leicester convey the impression that the
game was tight, disregard that notion.
Leicester deserved to win, and they deserved to win by a larger margin.
Manchester United deserved to lose, and they deserved to lose by a larger
margin than they did.
After receiving criticism, Solskjaer may get irritable, but after being
overrun and outclassed, he has nothing left to work with in terms of defense,
just as Manchester United did here at Leicester.
Leicester, back to their best, swarmed all over a team assembled at
great expense but lacking in organization and leadership, panicking and
creaking under the pressure all afternoon. United's manager appeared befuddled
at times in his technical area as Leicester, back to their best, swarmed all
over a team assembled at great expense but lacking in organization and
leadership, panicking and creaking under the pressure all afternoon.
After this game, Solskjaer will be held primarily responsible as a
manager – but a number of other prominent figures will be held accountable as
well. The ultimate conclusion, though, is that if United's dismal form
continues, there is one question that more and more people will ask themselves
with growing veracity.
Is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the ideal guy to lead Manchester United into the
future?
It's harsh, but it can't be gotten around. And the data to yet does not
point in a positive direction.
First and foremost, though, the players of Manchester United must be
subjected to a rigorous examination. This is not only due to Solskjaer's
efforts.
Harry Maguire, to put it mildly, was a little rusty in the ring after
returning from a calf injury in the previous week. With his initial touch, he
was able to take the ball out of play. During the build-up to Youri Tielemans'
equalizer, he was robbed by Kelechi Iheanacho and he was a member of an ineffective
defense that lacked any kind of calm at all. He seemed to be significantly
underprepared for the contest.
Bruno Fernandes spent a significant portion of the game yelling at
referee Craig Pawson. Against Leicester's midfield, Nemanja Matic was too
sluggish to adapt, and Paul Pogba had one of those frustrating, unproductive
games that was characterized mainly by repeated fouling that resulted in a
yellow card for the Frenchman.
And even the most well-known figure in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, was
not immune from the snare of mediocrity. He remained on the periphery
throughout, only getting engaged in bursts of action and failing to reverse the
tide like he has in the past when the tide turned against United.
Mason Greenwood – who scored a beautiful goal – was one of the few
players who managed to avoid criticism throughout the dreadful first half of
the match.
Solskjaer has suddenly found himself in the middle of a hurricane. When
he made a point of going straight up to the surviving Manchester United
supporters at the conclusion of the game, he may have found a few warm and
sympathetic looks, but his great achievements as a player and appreciation for
the healing work he performed after replacing Jose Mourinho only goes so far.
One of the arguments in Solskjaer's favor has been that he has a similar
points total to Liverpool's much-heralded Jurgen Klopp – and the two managers
will meet in a potentially crucial match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
In his first 104 appearances for Liverpool, he scored a total of 104
goals. The same amount of points have been won by Klopp and Solskjaer in the
same amount of time at Liverpool and Manchester United. If he had won on
Saturday, he would have moved one point ahead of Klopp's record.
However, the issue for Solskjaer is that the tempo picks up
significantly from this point forward. Klopp went on to win 283 points in his
following 123 Premier League games, an increase from his previous average of
1.88 points per game.
In other words, after a promising start, Klopp was able to take
Liverpool to the next level.
Unlike Klopp's Liverpool, this United side has shown no indications of
being anything like as good as the Reds, who won the Champions League in 2019
and the Premier League the following season.
The significance of the game at Old Trafford next Saturday is brought
into clear focus as a result of this. It is big for United, but it is
particularly significant for Solskjaer, who seemed helpless to prevent his
team's defeat at Leicester from slipping away from them.
After Leicester moved up 2-1, his double change of Scott McTominay and
Jesse Lingard for Greenwood and Matic had the appearance of being a desperate
last-ditch effort rather than a calculated tactical move. This one had the same
tinge of fear that permeated the rest of Manchester United's performance.
Manchester United and manager Jose Mourinho have had a difficult couple
of months.
Solskjaer has overseen a number of disappointing results since the
return of Cristiano Ronaldo, including a 4-1 defeat of Newcastle United. He has
also overseen a defeat by Young Boys in the Champions League, a win at West Ham
United before losing at home to them in the EFL Cup, a league defeat to Aston
Villa at home, and a win in the Champions League against Villarreal before being
held at home by Everton.
Then there was this poor performance. It is not unreasonable to say that
Manchester United were reduced to a rabble in the final minutes of the game by
a rampaging Leicester.
United have a lot of talent – just look at a teamsheet that includes
Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Paul Pogba, Ronaldo, Greenwood, Victor Valdes and
Jadon Sancho – but it appears that Solskjaer and his team are too often relying
on one of their attacking talents to come up with a moment to win a game or
salvage a point rather than following an established strategy.
It's all very much "fly by the seat of your trousers." Fingers
crossed that a bit of magic will be able to complete the task instead of
depending on a building. In this case, it is the manager's responsibility.
Against Liverpool, they will undoubtedly have to perform much better
than they have done thus far. Given their different forms, it will need the use
of magic as well as other means.
Of course, it's tempting to speculate about Solskjaer's future, but the
leadership at Manchester United has been firm throughout the process. He has
extended a new contract to his assistant Mike Phelan, and more backroom
agreements are expected in the future. Ole seems to be in complete command of the
situation.
In any event, there is another very important issue to consider: who is
really out there to take his place?
Solskjaer now has a demanding week ahead of him, with Atalanta at home
in the Champions League and then a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool, who will
have found United's defensive problems particularly appetizing.
These are trying times for Manchester United
manager, Solskjaer, who is still without a trophy and has shown no sign that
he will be able to turn this costly team into championship contenders.
Source:
ghananews.hrforum.uk
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